Does anybody know what this unit is called?

[cryophonik]

I think the "compressor" in question was moved to the lower rack insted see… at 1:30 the lower rack in the bottom left, but you guys are probably right its most likely a prop i guess?

Oh yeah, good eye. It’s the rackmount compressor equivalent to elf-on-the-shelf. Hard to say if it’s a prop or not, but the guy doesn’t strike me as someone who needs to fake it. That said, he wouldn’t be the first guy to mime flicking switches and twisting knobs for the YouTube views.

In any case, his sound is a lot more than whatever that compressor is/was.

Yeah, agreed. I think the special sauce is that the guy has a lot of nice vintage gear and the musical chops to deliver a funky ass synth bass lick the old school way.

[ghettosynth]

I don't know how much of all of that gear he uses in production, but, videos show quite a number of really old school pieces, including old mixing gear. Take all of that and combine it, record it to tape, and play the music with your fingers and with skill and you might be getting close. I don't think getting some sonic maximizers are going to make the difference if you aren't already 90% of the way there yourself.

So, yes, you can see it in the lower rack, more clearly at about 1:42. I will say that since it's been moved, it's more likely some kind of DIY compressor. However, without more info, it's going to be hard to guess what kind of compressor that might be? The switches are two different sizes, so, some could be to set ratio and the other as a switched threshold setting? I don't know, could be anything.

[koki98]

I think the "compressor" in question was moved to the lower rack insted see… at 1:30 the lower rack in the bottom left, but you guys are probably right its most likely a prop i guess?

Oh yeah, good eye. It’s the rackmount compressor equivalent to elf-on-the-shelf. Hard to say if it’s a prop or not, but the guy doesn’t strike me as someone who needs to fake it. That said, he wouldn’t be the first guy to mime flicking switches and twisting knobs for the YouTube views.

In any case, his sound is a lot more than whatever that compressor is/was.

Yeah, agreed. I think the special sauce is that the guy has a lot of nice vintage gear and the musical chops to deliver a funky ass synth bass lick the old school way.

So in your opinion theres no way to achieve a similar quality in the "digital domain" if you will?

I was hoping that the magical compressor would fix all my problems

[koki98]

I don't know how much of all of that gear he uses in production, but, videos show quite a number of really old school pieces, including old mixing gear. Take all of that and combine it, record it to tape, and play the music with your fingers and with skill and you might be getting close. I don't think getting some sonic maximizers are going to make the difference if you aren't already 90% of the way there yourself.

So, yes, you can see it in the lower rack, more clearly at about 1:42. I will say that since it's been moved, it's more likely some kind of DIY compressor. However, without more info, it's going to be hard to guess what kind of compressor that might be? The switches are two different sizes, so, some could be to set ratio and the other as a switched threshold setting? I don't know, could be anything.

Y your most likely right

[cryophonik]

However, without more info, it's going to be hard to guess what kind of compressor that might be? The switches are two different sizes, so, some could be to set ratio and the other as a switched threshold setting? I don't know, could be anything.

My initial thought when I saw the original fuzzy image without the logo was that it was some sort of switch box, maybe for routing the signal to the various compressors in his rack? Seems odd to have a compressor with just toggle switches. The “Compression” on the faceplate implies that it’s a compressor, but I’m not so sure.

[ghettosynth]

However, without more info, it's going to be hard to guess what kind of compressor that might be? The switches are two different sizes, so, some could be to set ratio and the other as a switched threshold setting? I don't know, could be anything.

My initial thought when I saw the original fuzzy image without the logo was that it was some sort of switch box, maybe for routing the signal to the various compressors in his rack? Seems odd to have a compressor with just toggle switches. The “Compression” on the faceplate implies that it’s a compressor, but I’m not so sure.

Agreed. I suggested that option earlier, but, it also seems weird to build a DIY box for that when he clearly is comfortable with patch bays. Could be though. Also though, you'd have to go out of your way to make what looks like a low LED count VU meter on the right.

Whatever it is, it might be important to acknowledge that even it is a compressor, it may not have been used as one in the video, and moreover, may have nothing to do with the bass sound that follows immediately afterward. So, in other words, it could be a valid bit of kit, and it could also be used as a prop in that video.

I can see some use case for building something with just stepped switch settings, e.g., for repeatability.

Now is when someone should mention some obscure piece of kit from the 70s that this is based from. We'll wait.

[cryophonik]

I think the "compressor" in question was moved to the lower rack insted see… at 1:30 the lower rack in the bottom left, but you guys are probably right its most likely a prop i guess?

Oh yeah, good eye. It’s the rackmount compressor equivalent to elf-on-the-shelf. Hard to say if it’s a prop or not, but the guy doesn’t strike me as someone who needs to fake it. That said, he wouldn’t be the first guy to mime flicking switches and twisting knobs for the YouTube views.

In any case, his sound is a lot more than whatever that compressor is/was.

Yeah, agreed. I think the special sauce is that the guy has a lot of nice vintage gear and the musical chops to deliver a funky ass synth bass lick the old school way.

So in your opinion theres no way to achieve a similar quality in the "digital domain" if you will?

I was hoping that the magical compressor would fix all my problems

That’s not what I’m saying. I’ve been a bassist for my pretty much my entire life and grew up on analog synths, but I’m not an analog or hardware snob and I work with both software/digital and hardware. Many people get great results in the box, so that’s not really relevant IMO. But in this case, I’m not hearing anything magical coming from a compressor or any other amazing processing. I’m just hearing some cool bass and synth lines from someone who knows how to do it. I’m sure the compressor is probably enhancing it, but what I’m hearing is simply musicianship. Whether it’s captured in the box or out of the box, it’s all good.

[ZOSO13]

Appears to be a DIY insert switcher.

[Tj Shredder]

I was hoping that the magical compressor would fix all my problems

Its never the gear that fixes problems. Its creativity and experience. Always…

[justin3am]

It's just a bunch of switches with LEDs. I have a hard time imagining it's a compressor... I suspect these switches activate modifications or routing for another device (either that or it's an example of an "engineer's switch/knob"). I've made panels like this for artists who want to add mods to a signal processor without drilling the device's front panel, or more commonly when connecting a cable to sidechain input breaks the normal with a compressor's own input.